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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Skinny Jeans

Last week when I ventured into Walgreens and they had brochures from Sally Hansen advertising their new minx-like nails stickers (polish strips). Well I went back today and they were in stock. Because I own konad, I was a little biased and not as thrilled with the selection. I was more impressed with the strips that had complex designs as opposed to the plain polished ones. There were several single colors to choose from, including two glitters (pink and gold if I remember correctly).

I tried to select designs that I couldn't do myself so I picked up Skinny Jeans (blue jean design) and Fly With Me (butterflies). I always wanted to do a blue jean manicure but I could never get the colors quite right. They also had a really cute lace design, but I figured I could do my own with Konad or real lace :)

The largest polish strip measures about 1.25 inches long and 3/4 inches wide. You may be able to stretch a second application if your nails are very short. I usually have trouble finding thumbs that fit but these were perfect. The application was easy but the stickers are thinner than they appear. I actually tore two of them while trying to stretch them onto my nails (I got that idea from the instructions). They suggest buffing your nails prior to applying but I skipped that step. I did apply a basecoat & topcoat out of habit, lined my tips with dark blue polish and sealed with Poshe topcoat. None of these steps are recommended. The strips are supposed to be hassle free and last up to 10 days.

Salon Effects retails for $9.99 and 16 come in the box (2, 8 packs). It may be a good value if you can get at least 7 days of wear or stretch 2 manis out of the 16 strips. Overall, they're cute but expensive for a 1 time application. They're great for a quick mani if you're running short on time, have a special event to attend or don't like to do nail art. But, if you're a frequent polish changer a better option may be full nail water decals. You can get them for around $5 and have less guilt when you take them off.